“I do. I know it’s a lot warmer here most of the year. But the ocean will always remind me of Maine. No matter where we are.”
“Me too.”
He tucks me closer into his side, and I stick my hand in his back pocket.
“I’m letting go,” I say to him quietly.
I don’t clarify, but Ayden’s spent over two decades learning my signals. “I’m not, Bella.” His tone is confident. “I’m going to hold the faith for the both of us for a while. Let me do that. You’ve always been the one who believed in me when I didn’t have any hope. It’s about time I returned the favor. I believe we’re going to have a baby together. I don’t know how I know that—I just do.”
I stop where we are on the beach, stand on my tiptoes, and kiss him. “I trust you. And I love you.”
He surprises me by slipping his tongue into my mouth.
My body lights up, and I curl my hand around his neck to bring him closer. “I think we should consummate our renewal now.”
We make it back to our hotel room within five minutes. Our clothes are off within thirty seconds, and Ayden carries me into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He lifts me into the cascading warm water and backs me up against the tiled wall. His hot mouth hits mine as he guides his thick erection inside my wet folds.
“Ayd…” I moan out his name as he thrusts inside me hard. “Oh, God. Don’t stop!”
He doesn’t. His tongue in my mouth matches the fevered pitch of his cock driving in and out of me, and all I can do is hang onto his shoulders and enjoy the ride.
He grips my ass with one hand and pinches my nipple with the other. When he starts pistoning in and out of me, I can’t hold back. I clench around him as I come so hard I sink my teeth into his shoulder.
My orgasm triggers his own, and he kisses me even harder as he jerks into me with his release.
We keep kissing even after we’ve both stopped coming. It feels like we’re speaking to each other without words.
I love you.
We’re going to be okay.
Life is pretty damn good.
Yes. It definitely is.
“Best Valentine’s ever,” I say to him.
Chapter Five
Five Weeks Later
Ayden
“You ready, babe?” I call through the closed bathroom door. “Everybody’s here.”
My cousins, Colton and Dylan, and their wives, Sky and Jasalie, have just showed up at the apartment where Bella and I live.
Colton and Dylan are pro football stars for the California Cougars, so Bella and I haven’t had a chance to hang out with them in a while. Now that football season has ended, we’re taking advantage of their extra free time as an excuse to have an adults-only night out.
Thanks to Dylan, Bella and I have had the luxury of living in the same beautiful apartment the entire time we’ve been here, the kind of stability that’s quite a feat for Los Angeles. Dylan owns the place, but he basically gave it to us. In return, I did every kind of landscaping imaginable to him and Jasalie’s Malibu property. It worked out brilliantly for everyone. Dylan and Jasalie got a one-of-a-kind oasis to relax in and block out the noise of fame, and I got a reputation that set up my business in this town.
Bella opens the bathroom door a crack.
“Ayden.”
Her tone is serious, and I step closer to the door. “What’s wrong?” I say with concern.
She thrusts something through the crack at me, and I take it in my hand.
What I see brings tears to my eyes. I blink them back, and when my vision clears, it’s not a dream. Those are definitely two pink lines, something we’ve never seen yet in all our trying.
My Bella is pregnant.
She opens the door wide, her expression one of amazement and joy.
“This is our miracle,” she whispers. “It was conceived in Hawaii. Our Valentine baby.”
I pick her up and hold her close. We don’t speak for nearly a minute, and I realize I’m still clutching the pregnancy stick in my fist.
I go to hand it back to her, and she shakes her head.
“Let’s go tell the others.”
“Are you sure?” I ask her. “Do you want to wait until you’re further along?”
“Nope. I want to share this with them. They’re our family, and I’m bursting to tell somebody. Besides, no matter what happens, you know we’ll still end up telling them.”
There aren’t a lot of secrets in the Wild clan. We have things we keep private for sure, but for the most part, we let each other in on the good and the hard parts of our lives.
So, I take Bella’s hand and we walk into the living room. Dylan and Jasalie look up from their seats on the couch, and Colton and Sky are standing by the TV.
I hold up the pregnancy stick. “We just got some news. With God’s grace, a new baby Wild will be joining us soon.”
Dylan’s dark eyes widen as a grin spreads across his face. “Congratulations!” He stands up and heads toward us.
Before he can reach us, Colton cuts in front of him. All I see is a flash of blond hair and a huge smile before he’s scooped Bella right out of my arms and is dancing across the room with her.
“Hey!” I call out. “That’s my pregnant wife you just carried off.”
Bella’s laughing as Colton kisses her cheek soundly and then puts her down by Sky and Jasalie, who throw their arms around Bella in the world’s most enthusiastic three-way hug I’ve ever seen.
Dylan claps me on the back. “I’m happy for you. I know how long you guys have wanted this.”
“You’ll make great parents,” Colton says to Bella and me. “Can’t wait to tell the others.”
As Bella and I follow the four of them out the door, I tug her back against my chest. “This is going to be a fun ride,” I say in her ear.
Epilogue
Ayden
“One last push, and you’ll meet your baby!” the doctor encourages Bella.
My wife is a superstar. She’s doing this whole labor thing without drugs, and I think I’ve been more scared than she is. She’s singularly focused on the job at hand, and as she gives one more big push, I hear a cry.
And then, time slows down as the doctor places our baby in Bella’s arms. A shock of dark hair and big, blue eyes.
“You have a healthy baby boy,” she says with a smile. “Congratulations to both of you.”
I sink down onto the bed next to Bella and we stare at our son together.
I kiss her, and then him.
“We did it,” she says in amazement. “He’s so beautiful. Isn’t he?”
“He is,” I agree. “And so are you.”
We cuddle together for a few more minutes with just the three of us, and then Bella smiles at me.
“I’m sure the guys are circling like sharks out there,” she says. “You can let them in.”
I go to the door. I’ve barely made it one foot outside the room when Michael, Colton, Dylan, Jenson, Brayden, and Cameron all rush me.
“How is she?”
“Is the baby born yet?”